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Assurances on disposition of spent nuclear fuel could be more important than guarantees of fresh fuel in convincing new nuclear countries to rely on international supply arrangements rather than pursuing their own uranium enrichment and spent fuel reprocessing programs, according to a study released Tuesday by the US and Russian national science academies. For several years, there have discussions about establishing an international system so that countries starting or considering nuclear programs do not also embark on enrichment and reprocessing programs, since this could give countries the capability to produce material -- high-enriched uranium and plutonium, respectively -- that can be used in nuclear weapons.
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Residents living near existing nuclear reactors only have "qualified support" for new power stations, a study shows. While most locals trusted the operators of their nearby power station, some had a strong distrust of the UK Government and the nuclear industry, it added.
more from news.bbc.co.uk
Warren Buffett's decision to rescue Constellation Energy Group Inc. gives one of the nuclear power industry's biggest skeptics some important clout in deciding its future. In agreeing to a $4.7-billion cash deal for Baltimore-based Constellation, Mr. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. will gain control of three nuclear power plants. In addition, it will own half of a prominent nuclear-plant development company, UniStar Nuclear Energy LLC, which is trying to accelerate construction of the next generation of nuclear plants in the U.S. Mr. Buffett, who has sizable investments in electric utilities and gas pipelines through Berkshire's energy firm, MidAmerican Energy Holding Co., has previously argued nuclear plants are too costly to build.
more from cattlenetwork.com
While nuclear power is pretty cold (more or less) in the U.S., it's heating up around the world. Eléctricité de France, the French power giant, just bought British Energy for about $23 billion, which gives the French company a major role in controlling British domestic energy production. France, of course, is well known for having three-quarters of its energy produced from nuclear power plants. (Compare that with about 20 percent in the U.S.)
more from machinist.salon.com
A small group of Calvert County residents met Wednesday night to band together in opposition to a proposed third reactor at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant. The meeting, which was organized by the Chesapeake Safe Energy Coalition, ended with the formation of a new, local group dedicated to raising awareness in Southern Maryland about nuclear power.
more from somd.com
Bloomberg suggests, and Joe Romm reiterates, that McCain's plan to build 45 nuclear reactors by 2030 might cost the taxpayers almost a third of a trillion dollars, or $ 315 billion. Now that's not much these days, considering what is being racked up for the Iraq war and the Fannie Mae debacle, but to paraphrase Everett Dirkson, a trillion here, a trillion there, pretty soon you're talking about real money.
more from www.treehugger.com
The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is seeking public input as they begin the process of trying to find a long-term storage facility site for used nuclear fuel. Although New Brunswick, a province that uses nuclear energy, has been named as a potential site for the storage facility, Energy Minister Jack Keir says it's too early to pass judgment on the merits of such a facility. He adds that the government believes in the process the organization is undertaking.
more from timestranscript.canadaeast.com
Former Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission boss Linda Keen has stepped down from her role on the CNSC's board of directors, complaining she has been demoted by the government to a position that is an "artificial creation." Keen was president and CEO of the CNSC when the Chalk River nuclear reactor was shut down last year over safety concerns. The shutdown led to a worldwide shortage of medical isotopes until Parliament issued an emergency order to restart the Atomic Energy of Canada reactor, overriding Keen's objections.
more from www.ctv.ca
Deposed nuclear-safety chief Linda Keen has quit her diminished job with Canada's atomic-industry watchdog and is speaking out about the need to protect a non-partisan public service. In a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the former president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) resigned Monday as she was scheduled to assume her demoted post as a commissioner with the federal agency. The Harper government fired her from the top job after the commission forced a shutdown last fall at a Chalk River reactor that produces vital isotopes for medical uses.
more from www.canada.com
CNN yesterday released a fact check report proving another John MCain lie about Barack Obama. In this case, McCain claimed in a Michigan stump speech that he favors nuclear power while Obama is against it. In reality, CNN reported, the Obama-Biden New Energy for America Plan includes a section entitled "safe and secure nuclear energy." If you visit Obama's website, as did CNN, you'll find in the plan this statement: "Nuclear power represents more than 70 percent of our non-carbon generated electricity. It is unlikely that we can meet our aggressive climate goals if we eliminate nuclear power as an option."
more from www.examiner.com
A section within India and the non-proliferation Ayatollahs outside are praying hard that the US Congress rejects the 123 agreement and thus mark the end of the much talked about civilian nuclear deal with the United States. But their hopes were actually dashed at the meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in Vienna last month when India received the waiver from the group of 45 nations that entitles India to enter the world of nuclear trade even without signing the NPT.
more from www.asiantribune.com
Answering some of the most commonly asked questions about nuclear power plants. To read part I of Peak oil and nuclear energy, click here. What are we going to do with all of the spent fuel? Let’s start with the saddest observation of all. There is no need to have this problem. France, which produces 79% of its electricity with nuclear plants, does not. France, and almost everyone else, reprocesses their fuel. We do not because Jimmy Carter (a nuclear engineer, for Lord’s sake) decided in 1977 that it was too “dangerous” because of the fear of nuclear proliferation (which has continued nonetheless). Reagan reversed Carter in 1981 but reprocessing has never been initiated. Nonsense. Read this to learn the reality of proliferation.
more from www.stockhouse.com
The concept of peak oil is not about running out of crude oil. It never has been. A Shell (OTO: RYDAF, Stock Forum) geologist (M. King Hubbert) in the '50s formulated, from his years of study of oil field production, his theory of Peak Oil. He predicted, accurately, that U.S. crude production would peak between 1965 and 1970. The actual year was 1970. If you never again read anything else about peak oil, read this.
more from www.stockhouse.com
The McCain/Palin push for endless oil drilling is being used as a smokescreen to gouge a half-trillion or more taxpayer dollars in subsidies and loan guarantees to build new atomic reactors. The mega-theft could be approved by the US Senate this week. Green activists throughout the nation are calling their senators, as should you. The atomic power industry can’t get private financing to build new reactors. So while Wall Street plummets into catastrophe, it is using the “drill, drill, drill” mantra to hide this latest raid on the depleted federal treasury.
more from onlinejournal.com
Most energy analysts in the early- and mid-1990s assumed nuclear power in the United States was dying a slow death. Utilities were saddled with unmanageable debt, mainly from the $60 billion in cost overruns and plant shutdowns due to the industry’s misadventures in the 1970s (when nukes were promoted as a solution to crippling high oil prices and calls for energy independence).
more from www.multinationalmonitor.org
Nation’s Financial Crisis, Pending Takeover of Constellation Raise Concerns WASHINGTON, D.C. – A coalition of environmental and public interest groups today called on Maryland regulators to place a moratorium on the permitting of a new $9.6 billion nuclear reactor in light of the nation’s worsening financial crisis and serious concerns about the stability of the company building the project. Constellation Energy Group, which is seeking permits to build the reactor at Calvert Cliffs, Md., was tied financially to Lehman Brothers Holdings, the giant investment firm that filed for bankruptcy Monday. By Wednesday’s market close, Constellation shares had lost nearly 58 percent of their value, trading at less than $25 a share. In January, Constellation’s stock was trading at a 52-week high of $107.97.
more from www.citizen.org
Recent allegations that a dash for wind would cause a big increase in fuel poverty crumble when you do the numbers, says Oliver Tickell. Nuclear is the real worry "Wind power could put another half million people into fuel poverty" – shock, horror! That was how BBC Radio 4 promoted last week's The Investigation into the future of wind power in the UK. Who can blame them? It got me listening. But do their figures stack up? And what exactly was Sir David King, former government chief scientific advisor, up to when he uttered his dire warning? In case you missed it, here's that warning in full:
more from www.guardian.co.uk
The Liberal government's road to self-sufficiency via energy exports may have encountered a speed bump yesterday. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick offered a reminder that the transmission capacity between Eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States is not the only challenge facing the energy exporting aspirations of Atlantic Canadian premiers and Quebec. As the biggest and most energy hungry state at the Conference of the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers, Massachusetts represents the biggest target for Canadian premiers who are hoping to cash in on energy exports.
more from timestranscript.canadaeast.com
Since when is nuclear an "alternative energy source"? Nuclear power has been around for decades. It's second only to coal for electricity production in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. And yet in its recent public survey, Three Mile Island repeatedly refers to nuclear power as an "alternative energy source."
more from ydr.inyork.com
Risks and Realities: The “New Nuclear Energy Revival” The headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) sits in the suburbs of Vienna, in the northeast corner of a country that has outlawed nuclear power plants since 1978. The irony of this situation masks deeper divisions in the nuclear energy debate, which recent assertions of a nuclear renaissance have papered over.
more from www.armscontrol.org
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